Skeleton Crew
TIMEPIECES REVEAL THEIR INNER BEAUTY THROUGH SMART ENGINEERING AND ARTFUL ENGRAVING
The creation of an openworked watch is an arduous process, beginning with a lengthy consideration of non-essential parts that can be trimmed away from the movement and what can later be decorated with engraving. To do this, the experience of a master watchmaker is essential—they hollow out as much material as possible while ensuring that the movement remains perfectly functional, resulting in a watch that is truly a work of art.
Vacheron Constantin is one of the true experts in the field of skeleton timepieces. And as if producing a tonneau-shaped calibre wasn’t challenging enough, the brand raises the bar further with the Malte Tourbillon Openworked model—creating an original architectural motif based on the shape of a triangle and engraving this by hand onto the visible parts of the movement, a process that takes 500 hours.
Audemars Piguet impresses with its 39mm Royal Oak Openworked Extra-thin Watch, which boasts such meticulous skeleton work that many argue it is one of the best of its kind. The timepiece features a self-winding calibre that is given the same slate-grey finish as the dial, lending the piece a contemporary look in striking contrast to its pink gold case.
Roger Dubuis highlights a complication that’s become somewhat of a speciality of the brand—the double flying tourbillon—in the best way possible by encasing it in a very much skeletonised structure. Ever faithful to the codes of the Excalibur line, the Excalibur Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon features the collection’s identifiable round case with its signature steely fluted bezel and burly crown guard. This pink gold version with a black ceramic bezel comes in a limited production of only 188 pieces.